Making extractive industries-led growth inclusive: An introduction

The extractive industries are often perceived as extremely lucrative, with civil society, international agencies, governments, and NGOs commonly arguing for greater levels of local return. Unfortunately, it is also common for foreign-owned extractive company community engagement/development activities in poorer host nations to be 'ad-hoc' and overlap with basic government services and responsibilities. We present six papers that represent examples of development opportunities in the supply chains of the extractive industries capable of facilitating inclusive engagement while simultaneously reducing poverty and diversifying economies, and which align with government social responsibilities. Staying within the supply chain enables the companies to benefit directly from their investments, enhance their operational security, and prevent others from 'free-loading'. These six papers show a diversity of opportunities that can benefit foreign extractive engagement, improve the potential of inclusive growth to local communities, enhance the capacity of local governments, and avoid common pitfalls by maintaining communication between important stakeholders.